Rock 'n' roller inspired by musical Broadway smash

For his first touring musical, Corey Glover chose the first Broadway hit for Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"I jumped at the chance," Glover said.

"This show has informed my whole career. The idea of what I wanted to be as a rock singer or an actor came from Jesus Christ Superstar."

Glover -- founder and leader of the Grammy-winning, million-selling rock band Living Colour -- plays Judas in Superstar, opening Friday for a weekend run in the Palace Theatre.

"It's a classic rags-to-riches story, going through the highest highs and lowest lows," said Glover, 43.

"Judas is a man who really felt like the world was changing and this man, Jesus, was the impetus for that change. Judas felt he was in the middle of the revolution. He's ready to fight and change the world, but things get out of hand."

Glover co-stars with Ted Neeley, a three-decade-plus veteran in the title role, in the rock musical about the last days of Christ.

"Ted was an amazing presence in the movie," Glover said. "I get to watch Ted do his thing at every show."

Neeley, in turn, appreciates the energy that Glover gives to the production.

"He's so intense up there -- which is exactly what Judas needs," Neeley said. "What passion and power he has. . . . (Corey) and his band got the Grammy for best hard-rock album (Cult of Personality and Time's Up) for two successive years. Who else has done that?"

Neeley, who first took on the Jesus role as the original understudy on Broadway in 1971, has toured with Superstar on and off since, with visits to Columbus in the 1990s.

Glover joined the latest U.S. tour in September 2006, taking time off only for a summer break that allowed Living Colour to play Europe.

"I love this show, I love Ted, and I love doing it on tour," Glover said. "It's just me, doing something different. . . . Living Colour was just a part of . . . (my career); I was a working actor before that."

What he admires most about Superstar, he said, is its combination of good songs, heartfelt emotion and social commentary.

Despite having spent half his life on the road, often giving concerts Thursdays through Sundays, Glover has learned something from his first theatrical tour.

"A concert is one thing, a moment in time -- whereas, when you do a musical, you're part of a real ensemble. And your part adds to it."

Performances of Superstar through the years, the 64-year-old Neeley said, have kept him young.

"I'm still 15 years old because I get to have this amazing existence," he said. "I was a rock 'n' roll drummer from Texas who hit high notes and got really lucky. I'm still hitting the high notes."

For about three decades, Neeley toured in Superstar with Carl Anderson -- who appeared as Judas opposite his Jesus in the 1973 movie.

"We were friends, with parallel backgrounds growing up in rock 'n' roll bands, who worked together for so many years," Neeley said. "We became the yin-yang of this piece, and this is the first time I've had a chance to do the show without him."

A replacement for Anderson, who died of leukemia in 2004, wasn't easily chosen, Neeley said.

With his help, Superstar producers auditioned performers for about a year and a half.

"Many could sing beautifully," Neeley said, "but intensity was the main element missing in all the other people who auditioned."

At his audition, Glover didn't tell Neeley or the producers how much he loved the musical.

They later learned that Glover was inspired to pursue a show-business career when his grandmother took him as an 8-year-old to see the film.

"Corey is so respectful of what Carl created that he pays tribute to Carl each night," Neeley said. "But Corey does his own interpretations of Judas, bringing his own creativity and experience.

"There are moments where we are nose to nose with each other. Never once has he backed off. It's a joy to work with him."

mgrossberg@dispatch.com

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